The more than 600 youth and teens that take part in summer baseball and softball leagues through the Kirksville Baseball and Softball Association may end up paying more in participation fees as the group weighs how to address increasing costs at North Park.

The KBSA Board is scheduled to meet this weekend and discuss options that could include increasing each participant’s fee from $50 a summer to $55, reducing the umpires or supervisors available for certain games or finding the about $2,100 increase in costs elsewhere.

The issue surfaced during the city’s budget discussions focusing on its North Park operations, where KBSA in addition to Katz and the adult leagues play games throughout the summer.

The Council instructed city staff to address the department’s budget and in turn, the user groups were presented with a budget difference of about $3,000 to be made up.

And with KBSA hosting the majority of the games at North Park, the lion’s share of the costs fell to it.

“Every year the expenses are going up, gas is going up,” Assistant City Manager and Parks and Recreation Director Melanie Smith told the Council this fall. “At some point, we have to find a way to cut our costs or find new revenue.”

North Park costs about $110,000 to operate in the 2013 budget and is expecting about $81,000 in revenue from fees charged to groups like KBSA and concessions. That revenue figure does not include the nearly $100,000 the Council chose to transfer to the North Park budget to clear its long-standing debt after being converted from an enterprise fund to a special, self-sustaining revenue fund years ago.

So, KBSA will weigh how to carry its additional cost of about $2,100.

“This cost is more of an issue now than it was 10 years ago,” said KBSA board member Hank Jansen.

KBSA was put in a similar position about three years ago and it absorbed that cost into its operations rather than pass it along.

Jansen proposed the board may consider altering its multiple-players family rule, where discounts were offered for more than one player from a family or altering its umpire rules, potentially eliminating either the younger levels’ umpire or the umpire supervisor position.

“I feel it’s important to offer some sort of discount for families, but yet, it’s costing us,” Jansen said. “Passing the cost along is the simplest solution.”

KBSA President Daniel Ferguson said he feels even if the fees per participant were to increase to $55, it would still be lower than comparable programs in Missouri.

“To me, I think it’s a really good buy and still a pretty good bargain,” Ferguson said ahead of this weekend’s meeting. “With the price of gas, doing it locally allows people to not have to drive to Columbia or Kansas City and we try to involve the kids who don’t have the ability to drive all that way. That part makes it worth it to me.”

Jansen said he feels passing the fees should be the last resort.

“I’d hate for someone to not be able to play because they can’t afford it,” he said.

KBSA operates on about $10,000 annually, with about half of those costs going toward insurance and the other half toward medals, printing and equipment costs.

Out of the current $50 fee, the city receives $35, with the remainder for KBSA.

A decision is expected out of the weekend meeting, with the sign-up starting at the end of February.